Meredith nears $1.8 billion deal to buy Time Inc.

Iowa-based magazine publisher Meredith Corporation is near a deal to acquire rival Time Inc., according to media reports on Sunday.

The deal, which would create the largest publisher of print magazines at a time of significant media consolidation, would be worth between $1.8 billion and $2 billion, individuals with knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

Des Moines-based Mered­ith has agreed to pay be­tween $18 and $19 a share in cash for the New York-based pub­lisher of Time, Peo­ple and Sports Il­lus­trated, insiders told the Wall Street Journal.

Meredith — which attempted to acquire the publisher of Time, People and Sports Illustrated in 2013 and again earlier this year — is backing its bid with $600 million in financing from a division of the privately held Koch Industries.

Reps for Meredith and Time Inc. did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.